Unpaid Debts
by DearLemonLima
Summary: It was very unexpected for the Fire Nation Princess to spare the life of an Earth Kingdom girl sentenced to death. It was more unexpected for Azula to fall in love with her. Regardless, this pickpocket acrobat has a part to play in the war, and Azula knows it. Azula/Ty Lee AU.
1. Chapter 1

A/N:  
>Chapters - 38<br>Ships - _**TYZULA-centric**_, a strong, strong amount of Zoph, also with past Zutara, current Sukka & eventual slowburn Maitara.  
>AU - a collection of tiny canon divergences that drastically alter things. I'll reveal it through dialogue and scenes, not explain each thing up here.<br>Rating - T for violence, language, mild to moderate sexual content and dark themes of slavery and abuse. The rating has a chance of going up (probably for sex), but is right now likely to remain at tea.

* * *

><p>"Don't kill her." Those words stun the soldiers present. "Stop <em>gawking<em>. I said don't kill her and I mean it."

Azula speaks clearly to the brigade of soldiers. One of them clutches the Earth Kingdom girl by her braid, the other holds a sword to her palpitating throat. The room is dimly lit, the sun slowly setting over the Earth Kingdom mountains. Azula is on a futile mission with her bored companion sitting in the corner waiting for either blood or drama, and this Earth Kingdom girl is waiting for her fate.

It is a dull mining town. Azula simply has been passing through on her way to do much more important things. But here she is, robbed, and about to spare the life of the girl who robbed her. All because of the peculiar way in which the Earth Kingdom girl did it.

"She stole from you," General Chan, the wielder of the blade, protests.

"I don't care. When I tell you not to kill her, I mean put the sword down before I gut you with it, General Chan," Azula continues calmly and he moves the sword away from the ruffian's throat. "There. Was that so hard?"

The Earth Kingdom girl looks up at Azula with her wide innocent eyes. She seems baffled in the manner of a small animal or cute child, but clearly she is Azula's age. _The age of the Avatar_, the strategist in Azula notes, but she walks forward, the soldiers nearby fluttering away from her in a panic, and helps the girl to her feet.

"Thank you," stammers the Earth Kingdom girl as Azula examines her closely. Almost as if she is going to eat her; there _is _something desiring in her golden eyes. "How I can I repay you?"

Azula is rather intrigued by the girlish voice. She seems unnerved by the fact she was about to die, save from slightly shaking hands and stumbling words. The princess has seen people lined up for execution before and usually, they tend to cry. But not this girl. Hm. Perhaps she has just seen too much.

"Show me how you did that," Azula purrs and the Earth Kingdom girl tilts her head to the side like a kitten. It is _almost _cute but Azula steps back and crosses her arms.

"You mean... the... the chi blocking?" the Earth Kingdom girl asks quietly and Azula shrugs, then nods. The Earth Kingdom girl nods feverishly and moves into a demonstration.

Azula studies the motions as the Earth Kingdom girl goes through them with a very unhappy soldier. She watches the jabs, tries to memorize the locations. This girl is beyond useful and General Chan was about to slaughter her. It displeases the princess, but she supposes that the Earth Kingdom is ridden with barbarism.

"I'm keeping her," Princess Azula declares and the Earth Kingdom girl studies her closely. She does not seem to know what to say. "She can join me on my quest to find my brother."

"Are you sure that's wise, princess?" General Chan inquires uncomfortably, glancing between the petty thief and the crown princess.

"I will tell you what is wise," Azula replies sharply and he bites his tongue. She flickers her eyes up and down the Earth Kingdom girl's body again and then nods. "What's your name?"

"Uh, Ty Lee," the Earth Kingdom girl says, offering a grin. She _smiles_, which Azula finds funny. She is a strange girl, certainly.

"Well, I'm Princess Azula and this is Mai," Azula says slowly, purring. General Chan has no idea what she is doing and he does not like it. "You're going to be our slave."

"Uh, okay," Ty Lee says in her girlish voice and Azula blinks slowly. She did not expect such an amicable reaction to slavery.

"That's it?" Azula asks and Ty Lee looks at her, clearly confused. Azula sighs and supposes this is what she is going to work with. "Alright, come on."

* * *

><p><em><strong>One Month Ago<strong>_

_Azula walks through the palace cautiously, carefully, wondering what is happening. The advisors of her father are in a frenzy and Azula rolls her eyes. Her Nation's leaders are a very feeble crew, save for her father._

_ She pushes past them, trying to force her way to the throne room. And she succeeds, letting herself in and seeing her father in the middle of an audience._

_ "Azula," Ozai says and she flinches slightly. "Come sit. You can help me with this."_

_ It is unexpected but undeniably pleasant. She strides across the room and sits at her father's right hand smugly. She is sixteen and already completely prepared to take the throne when the time comes, and incredibly grateful that over five years ago her brother was banished for disgracing the family._

_ "What's happening, father?" Azula asks as she admires how he makes such grown men grovel. The people in front of them have their lips touching the floor and it brings an almost sexual pleasure to Azula._

_ "The rebels have taken out our major fortress near Ba Sing Se. And, to make matters more interesting, your brother is now one of them," Fire Lord Ozai says and Azula's eyes flash. She knew Zuko was a traitor but she never imagined him joining the rebels._

_ Zuko was sent out after the Avatar. He was two when the last Avatar died; a waterbender by the name of Hama. She died in prison before Azula was born, and the Avatar before that died when Fire Lord Sozin killed off the airbenders. Fire Lord Sozin defeated an Air Avatar, Fire Lord Azulon a Water Avatar, and Fire Lord Ozai will defeat the Earth Avatar. Azula supposes that leaves Fire to her, but she assumes the fire Avatar will be on _her _side, not the other way around._

_ And therefore she is stunned that Zuko has stopped searching for the Earth Kingdom girl or boy and joined the rebels. Maybe he got bored. Maybe it was Uncle's influence. Azula has no clue but she does not like it either way._

_ Either way, Azula thinks that something will have to be done. She holds the audience with her father and studies those who speak very closely. It is almost possible to pretend she is Fire Lord as she watches and occasionally, when appropriate, interjects._

_ After the day is dealt with and the information gathered, Fire Lord Ozai turns to his daughter and says, "I have a task for you."_

_ "Yes, father?" Azula purrs, wondering if she should bow or not. She decides against it._

_ "I want you to go retrieve your brother before he gets me into more trouble with the rebels," Fire Lord Ozai growls and Azula nods slowly._

_ It is not exactly what she imagined doing with herself. But she heard the reports of the destruction of important weaponry, soldiers and the collection of intelligence the Fire Nation could use. And so she nods once more and agrees. If this is what it takes to prove her loyalty to her country, it is what she will have to do._

_ "Prepare your things and train. It will be a difficult journey."_

* * *

><p>Mai sighs as they walk back to the governor's mansion they are staying in. This inconsequential town is boring to both Mai and Azula, and they now have the company of a slave amongst the handful of soldiers who have been accompanying them on their quest to find Zuko and Iroh.<p>

"So, we have her now?" Mai asks as if Ty Lee is not there. Ty Lee simply watches, her mouth tightly shut, and waits to figure out what these girls want.

Obviously the princess has sinister intentions. And her companion has the most _grey _aura Ty Lee has _ever _witnessed. But she is moderately excited to go on this adventure; her life has not been pleasant since the Fire Nation invaded. Her parents are both dead, and from three cities away. She joined the circus, then was arrested, then wound up living in a mining town making a meager living as a waitress who did occasional street performances on the side.

The Princess of the Fire Nation enslaving her might be the most fortunate thing that could happen, as terrible as that is. Not to mention she is one for excitement... as long as it does not get her killed. She plans to cooperate.

"Yes, we have her now," Azula replies to Mai and Ty Lee glances between them. This is beyond complicated and confusing. Ty Lee was never incredibly _smart_. But even she can tell that there are some unspoken words of criticism between Mai and Azula. "And it's my decision."

"Your father will be so pleased when we show up with a new pet." Mai pauses for a moment and laughs faintly. It is the most halfhearted laugh Ty Lee has ever heard. "Do you remember when you tried to bring home that stray cat."

"It scratched me." Azula turns to Ty Lee. "Don't scratch me or I'll have my father drown you like that cat."

Ty Lee makes a small squeaking noise and Mai laughs, this time more genuinely.

They finally reach the governor's mansion and settle into Azula and Mai's shared room. Ty Lee looks at the suitcases and the table with shining blades laid out on it. A stack of papers are sitting on the antique wooden table in the corner of the room. The bed looks plush like nothing Ty Lee has slept in before.

"I'm going to ask you a few questions," Azula says as Mai starts organizing the blades that are basked in sunlight from the window. The princess gestures to the bed and Ty Lee hesitantly sits down.

"Of course, princess," Ty Lee says and Mai squints at her for a moment. She does not seem to believe that Ty Lee is willing to play along.

"Are you an earthbender?" Azula inquires, studying her closely. It would be fate if she were the Avatar; Azula can only hope that she is the Avatar. It would explain her compulsion to spare a life instead of watch it be wasted.

"I can't bend at all. That's why I do the chi-blocking," Ty Lee replies blithely and Azula sighs. Figures.

"Well, it's an intriguing talent. Where are your parents?" Azula asks, sitting down in an armchair hastily reupholstered in red over green fabric. She crosses her legs and clasps her hands on her lap, her back straight and her gold gaze puncturing Ty Lee's essence.

"Both dead," Ty Lee explains and Azula slowly nods. "I've kind of bounced around. I worked in a circus for a while."

Mai laughs again. Azula smirks faintly, a cold twist of her lip that makes Ty Lee uneasy.

"What was your act?" the princess inquires and Ty Lee licks her lips.

"I did contortionism and acrobatics."

"See, Mai, she is useful," Azula says, turning away from Ty Lee to face her best friend since childhood. Mai simply shrugs.

"She's useful if she sides with us." Mai shrugs and returns to her knives.

Azula sighs. Ty Lee wonders if there was ever something romantic between them; they certainly act like it. Then again, Ty Lee is the kind of person who has a multitude of friends but none of them are very close. These two seem to have intimate knowledge of each other, simply from the way their eyes meet, amber and gold.

Ty Lee always found Fire Nation women beautiful. Perhaps it is just the thought that looking Fire Nation means you will be treated better, but the ink black hair, light skin and eyes the color of precious metals is somewhat glamorous. Everyone Fire Nation has too much Earth Kingdom mixed in here in the colonies to have such features. It is exotic, much like when Ty Lee saw a waterbender with tan skin and _blue _eyes. A brilliant cobalt hue, the man had, and chiseled features.

"You will side with us, won't you?" Azula purrs, her gaze on Mai but her face pointing at the profusely sweating Ty Lee.

"Mhm. I don't... think I have a choice," Ty Lee squeaks and Azula gestures at her as if her point is proven.

"What do you know about the rebels?" Azula asks and Ty Lee knits her eyebrows together. She looks completely confused. "Go on."

"No more than I've heard. Sometimes they get executed. This is a really drab town in the middle of nowhere. The rebels are usually closer to Ba Sing Se," Ty Lee says sweetly and Mai rubs her lips together. She looks as if she wants to say something, but she remains silent.

"My brother has joined them," Azula says and Mai makes a choking sound. "We're on a mission to collect him and regain what was stolen from the Fire Nation."

The room is silent. Mai shakes her head slowly but does not protest Azula.

"Can I ask you a question, princess?" Ty Lee inquires and Azula slowly nods. Mai rolls her eyes. "Why did you save me?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out." The truth is, Azula has no idea. When she saw the knife going to the thief's throat, her stomach had the sensation of burning. Her chest felt like it was imploding. And she had a rush of nerves that both made her happy and frantic and angry.

Something in her was telling her that this Earth Kingdom pickpocket had a part to play in this war.

Or so Azula tells herself.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Two Weeks Ago<strong>_

_Azula seeks out Mai first and foremost. She will need all of the help she can get on her quest to regain what her father has lost. And she does not trust these soldiers as far as she can throw them, no matter how many medals they brandish at her._

_ She arrives in Omashu unannounced, but quickly there is commotion. Everyone who is anyone wants to see Princess Azula, but all she wants is to collect her friend and set off to find Zuko, Uncle and the dignity of her father._

_ "Have you come to kill me?" inquires Mai with a small sigh. Azula smirks; she missed her._

_ It was typical of father to give governorship of a city to Azula's only friend's father. Singling his daughter out, removing distractions from making her into a weapon of war. Perhaps she is gathering Mai for selfish reasons beyond just someone more competent than soldiers to follow her on her journey._

_ "Only if you piss me off," Azula replies as she offers a halfhearted hug. Mai still smells the same as she used to. Slight twinge of regret, slight sensation of her stomach twisting. _

_ "I'll try to avoid that," Mai replies, offering what could pass for a smile. Azula steps back and examines her closely._

_ "You look good. Paler than usual, if that's possible. A little... sickly. But good."_

_ "If you say so, princess. So what is it you need?"_

_ "Is it a crime to visit an old friend?"_

_ "I said, what is it you need? You don't even talk to people if you don't want something from them."_

_ Azula thought she was in love with Mai for a while. That was right before father had her sent away. She thought she loved her because there was nothing to gain, and that did not matter. But love is a lie. It is not something Azula thinks she will ever manage to experience._

_ "I need you to join me on my mission," Azula spits out and Mai takes a deep breath and nods._

_ "Count me in. Anything is better than the monotony. And the _cold_," Mai says, shivering in example. Azula smiles faintly with relief in her chest. _

_ "You remember my brother?"_

_ "How could I forget?"_

* * *

><p>Azula, Mai and Ty Lee leave at daybreak. Ty Lee is exhausted, Mai twice as tired, and Azula abuzz. Mai thinks Azula did not go to sleep last night at all, and Mai does not blame her. Mai kept worrying that she would wake up and the slave girl would have broken free of her chains and strangled Mai and Azula in their beds.<p>

And Mai knows that Azula has no grand plan with her prisoner; she has the hots for her. That is the only logical explanation for Azula's illogical explanation, and Mai finds it vaguely disturbing. But, then again, maybe Azula does have some grand plan. Mai would not put it past her.

They have only made it three miles when they are attacked. It starts with a boulder rolling directly at Mai, but she dives out of the way and plunges several projectile knives into the chest of the earthbender who tried to kill her. The soldiers accompanying the three girls start an immediate battle with the onslaught of rebels.

Azula glances at her Earth Kingdom slave girl and slashes a single blue flame that breaks the chains around her wrists. Mai rolls her eyes as Azula hits a man about to slash Mai with a sword with a bolt of lightning. The clearing smells like burnt flesh as Azula takes down two more rebels. They clearly are not expertly trained.

One throws a punch at Azula and she does an aerial flip over his shoulder, running a nail across his neck as she passes him, and then finishing the bleeding, gasping man off with a whirlpool of azure fire. She glances up at the slave girl and sees that she is taking out the rebels going after her.

Azula watches as she strips the bending from the earthbenders and it fascinates her. It is at that moment that a chunk of rock goes flying at her and nearly hits her in the ribs. It disappates in an uncontrolled blast of red fire that Azula cannot imagine coming from her controlled, elite soldiers.

And then she hears a shriek of terror from the Earth Kingdom girl. It was her. She was _firebending_. Azula swallows her rage and finishes off the woman who nearly broke Azula's ribs with rock, and soon the rebels are defeated with no casualties to the Fire Nation.

"Put the shackles back on her!" is the first thing Azula orders after the smoke clears. General Chan immediately obeys, latching them on.

Azula walks to Ty Lee, who is shaking, looking about to vomit all over her shoes. Mai catches her breath and joins Azula, looking on. Her hands are still smoking with a small amount of fire; clearly she is a pitiful excuse for a firebender.

"You lied to me. You said you couldn't bend at all; that's _firebending_!" Azula looks livid, her golden eyes flashing as Ty Lee gasps for breath in fear. She somehow manages to control the flames on her hands and bursts into hysterical tears.

The symbol of optimism in the trio is now crying and crying and crying. Azula walks to her slowly before Mai can hold her back, and kneels beside her. They both are on the floor of the ship and Azula rubs Ty Lee's back. It is a gesture of kindness; the carrot instead of the stick. Azula thinks she will make more progress with feigned sweetness.

"I've always had to hide it. I lied because I lie to everybody," Ty Lee whimpers, rubbing her eyes. "My father was an earthbender and so was my mother so one of them... one of them had an affair, okay? I'm not trained in it and I always use my acrobatics and chi-blocking and I try to control it and..."

"You shouldn't have lied," Azula says, clenching her fists. She is not one to go back on her word, and she knows she has the feeling that Ty Lee has an important role in the war, but she does not like to be _lied to_ or treated like a _fool_. "This is the end."

"Wait," Mai interrupts and Azula's eyebrows shoot up. "She's been pretty fucking useful, princess. I'd lie in her position too. Can you imagine being a firebender kid to two earthbending parents in an occupied town? Maybe you could teach her to control her firebending."

Azula hesitates. "You were just adamantly against taking her with us to use her gift for ─ chi blocking is it? ─ _yes _chi blocking. Why are you on her side now?"

"She didn't have to fight with us," Mai offers with a shrug. It likely means Ty Lee wants to exploit them for something, but Mai can see the value in an Earth Kingdom ally. Particularly one who can also firebend.

"It's only because I saved her," Azula snaps and Ty Lee weakly nods. It _is _only because Azula saved her life.

"But what if you train her?" Mai turns a palm up and Azula makes mental note to analyze her flip in opinion later.

Mai has a strong point. If Azula were to train her new Earth Kingdom accomplice, she could go leaps and bounds further. Ty Lee _is _her slave after all, and Azula is well within her rights to teach her basic bending on top of the chi blocking and the acrobatics she keeps talking about.

This is something her father has done for the army. Sparing lives to train enemies to fight for him. Azula thought she would do it for the chi blocking, but the _lying _about her bending is repulsive. Azula does not like to be lied to, even if she may be a compulsive liar.

"I'll train you," Azula offers finally, knowing it is the wise choice. She can always kill her later if she has to, she supposes.

And she is still trying to figure out why she saved her. There has to be some reason. Some reason that Azula did something like that impulsively.

Oh, she is selfish.

"Thank you, princess," whimpers Ty Lee.

* * *

><p>AN: This first chapter is kind of preview-y. It doesn't have any meaty plot in it yet, just the set up. Hope you liked it. Please review :3


	2. Chapter 2

"I want you to breathe in very slowly," Azula says, her hands clasped behind her back. Ty Lee shrinks slightly at her posture, which is exactly the effect it is intended to have. "Firebending comes from the _breath_."

They have stopped at a Fire Nation outpost in the Earth Kingdom to stay for a few days to recover from the past three attacks by rebels. Azula is thrilled by the fact that the rebels are nearby; it means her work may be over sooner than she believed it would be.

That is, if Zuko is with them. He could be in an entirely different chapter, but Azula knows a little fire and metal goes a long way, and one of them will snap. It would be difficult for people _not _to know where the Fire Nation's Prince is, if he works for the _rebellion _against his own father.

"Alright." Ty Lee breathes slowly. And then forgets to breathe. Then gasps for air muttering, "Forgot to breathe, forgot to breathe," and choking. Azula tries not to cringe.

This may be harder than she imagined it to be.

"It's a wonder nobody ever taught you. You never had an outburst before?" Azula asks, pacing around Ty Lee in a way that makes her want to hide. It is how a lion vulture in the circus will circle before it mauls someone.

"Nope. I've never been in a situation like that before, though," Ty Lee says, scratching her head before quickly realizing she is supposed to be doing some kind of special breathing. "I've never been attacked from all angles by huge guys."

"Hm. Breathe from your diaphragm."

"My what?"

"I... This is going to take all day, isn't it?" Azula knows she has the choice to not do this all day, but she wants to. She finds herself intrigued and so help her Mai is wrong when she sees it is just hormonal attraction. There is a reason for it and Azula is certain.

Or she could just be deluding herself.

Ty Lee forgets to breathe again.

It is likely Azula is deluding herself.

* * *

><p>"You are jealous, Mai," Azula says sharply, clasping her hands on her lap and straightening her posture drastically. "You are jealous because I'm interested in someone other than you. But I'm not going to wait forever, am I?"<p>

Mai sighs, rubbing her temples. She is already getting a headache from Azula. This Earth Kingdom girl thing is by far the most reckless thing Azula has done since she kissed Mai on the mouth. She is drunk on power and should probably not be trusted with a bag of toy soldiers, much less the Fire Nation army. But Mai swallows her criticism and tries to deal with this like a responsible adult.

"I'm not _jealous_, Azula," she says. Not going so well in the _responsible adult _department. "I just think that you getting romantically entangled when we're supposed to be stopping a rebellion singlehandedly is probably a little unwise. You're level headed to a really depressing extent. You don't do anything without analyzing it forever. So, you impulse rescued a hot chick and expect everyone to act like it's some brilliant plan?"

Azula clenches her jaw, grinding her teeth together slightly. "I didn't _impulse rescue a hot chick_."

"That is exactly what you did," Mai says, crossing her arms. "I'm the only person who is ever going to be honest with you about your decisions. And this is a _bad decision_."

"She has the potential to be a pretty good firebender," Azula says, kicking her foot back in forth in a way that just makes Mai want to hack it off starting at the ankle. Working with Azula is an exercise in frustration, as much as Mai loves her.

"Her firebending skills don't matter. What matters is that, what if you start _trusting her _or something?" Mai sits down on the bed and stares at her feet. She thinks she is going to faint. Is it possible to be this frustrated? And is it possible to keep completely calm and vacant when Azula is diving off of a cliff and dragging Mai down with her?

"I don't trust anybody. I don't trust you. I don't trust my father. Trust is for fools," Azula says placidly and Mai fights the urge to punch her.

"Azula, I don't intend on betraying you or fighting against you. Even if you don't trust me, I trust you. But... look, I'm completely willing to throw a knife into Zuko's neck if we have to. So tell me you're willing to hit this girl with a bolt of lightning, despite your very hot and bothered thoughts about her," Mai says hopefully and Azula purses her lips for a moment.

"Of course I am," Azula says and Mai believes her. Or at least she _wants _to believe her, which Mai supposes will have to do.

"You're nervous, aren't you? About what's going to happen when we find Zuko," Mai says and Azula swallows. There is a brief glint of rage in her eyes like sun on a bronze sword. "I am too."

"I know what's going to happen. I'm going to defeat him, collect him and reclaim my father's property," Azula says, but her confidence is clearly fake to Mai. If she were a gushier type, she would want to hug Azula, but instead, she just accepts lies as truth and does not interfere.

It works for them.

"So, you're not waiting forever?" Mai changes the subject because she knows it is for the best.

"I can't," Azula says, although her words carry a hint of bitterness. "If you want to be in love with a traitor instead of the future Fire Lord, that's your choice."

"I'm not in love with him," Mai says sharply and Azula's eyes flicker with some sick pleasure. Mai despises how much Azula loves striking a nerve. "It was a _very _long time ago. Azula, I haven't seen him in like seven years. It's pretty over at this point."

"You see me every day," Azula protests and Mai sighs and swallows. "But, I can't force you to be attracted to me, although everyone else seems to be. I'm going to check on our prisoner."

Azula stands up, as if it makes her the better person, and leaves Mai behind. As she shuts the door, Mai clenches her fists and bites the inside of her cheek.

She does not deserve putting up with this.

Even if Azula is her only friend.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Two Years Ago<strong>_

_ It is a summer day, and Azula is pouring heaps of sugar into tea. She is not exactly allowed to do that, with her strict regime of training, but she does not care today. Her father has stolen enough of her ideas, and now, and now he has locked her out of his meeting about Sozin's Comet._

_ He is going to seize the Earth Kingdom and Azula _deserves _to be there. She is going to take the throne one day and the comet is as much hers as it is his. But he seems to only invite her to things when he needs her. He misses everything in her life, and so help her, if she wants tea with enough sugar to kill her, she can do it._

_ Rebelling is ridiculous. She will wind up like Zuko. But spiting her father is pleasurable to her; at least as much as spiting other people is._

_ She drinks it, disgusted by the sweetness but entirely unwilling to back down. She started it and she is going to finish it. But the tea is bittersweet, despite the overwhelming sugar, because Azula is sitting alone in a corner of the palace, surrounded by dust and old relics, tapestries with small scorch marks with no explanations behind him._

_ Sitting alone. As usual. As always. Azula is sitting all alone._

_ She opens the letter from Mai that she has been saving. Her letters are usually just her whining about how much she hates the Earth Kingdom, but Azula wants to feel as if someone cares enough to acknowledge her. Particularly when she and her father discussed the comet and he simply took her ideas without crediting her._

_ But this letter is distinctly different. It doesn't have the lazy, drawling script Azula can't help but read in Mai's voice. It seems as if a good deal of thought was put into it. Azula carefully reads through it, her eyes flickering in surprise when she reaches the end._

_ Mai is coming back. After nearly two years, she is coming back to the Fire Nation. Azula supposes it only makes sense if her father is seizing the Earth Kingdom. But she feels almost giddy. Everything was stripped away from her, Mai was sent away, likely because of father, given that _he _awarded Mai's father the governorship. And Azula was pulled out of school so there was no chance she was making any new friends._

_ Mai was always her only friend. She was always the only person she trusted._

_ She also is the person Azula has been borderline in love with for a long time. She has this feeling in her gut of fluttering and twisting, a rush of anxiety and bliss, when she thinks about her. When she is around her it feels as if she is about to enter an Agni Kai. _

_ And Azula thinks that must be love._

_ Not that Mai feels the same way. And not that Azula doesn't have better things to do with her time than _pine _over a lost cause._

_ But Azula reads the letter a thousand times even though it is short and more of a notification than anything with thought, feeling or friendship._

_ It is small consolation while her father is actively betraying her in the throne room._

* * *

><p>Zuko is sweating profusely as he runs through the forest. The trees cut any skin that is exposed, but he does not feel the pain from the rush of adrenaline. He got into a skirmish he does not think he can get out of, and he rips off his Blue Spirit mask and tucks it into the bag of stolen correspondence.<p>

He starts to choke as he leaps through a thicket and keeps running, but now off of the trail. Hopefully they can't catch him, but he can hear their voices and the pounding of mongoose dragons against the dirt. Zuko keeps running, his throat constricting now and burning as if it is on fire. Each breath is painful, and finally, he has to stop and lean against a tree.

Zuko hides, unsure what to do. Terrified, incredibly terrified. He coughs and gasps and tries to make his breathing silent despite how labored it is. But he is not quiet enough, because he has to roll out of the way of a fiery blast that snaps the tree in half.

An arrow comes directly at him and he rolls again, this time colliding with a rock. He was doing just fine until they called for reinforcements. Nobody gave him _that _intel back at the rebel base.

He pushes himself onto his feet and realizes he can see the walls of a nearby town ahead. It could either mean arrest and execution, _or _the soldiers could stop and not follow him, instead of tearing up the streets which is against their protocol. He is willing to take a chance, even if they search for him in the town; it looks big enough to hide.

So he starts running. It is a chance he is willing to take as he clutches the bag of letters to higher ups in the military to his chest.

Walls. The town is surrounded by a wall. How convenient. Ugh. But Zuko jams his hands and legs into the bricks and starts climbing. The soldiers stop and Zuko realizes he is in a major city's jurisdiction now, which explains the defenses, and also makes this much easier on him. Whatever Fire Nation man or woman slithered their way to governorship likely has bigger things to worry about than a sole rebel hiding in their city.

He leaps down from the wall, finally catching his breath, and realizes he is in someone's backyard. Better to be arrested by the Earth Kingdom for breaking and entering than the Fire Nation for high treason, though.

"Who are you and what are you doing in my house?" demands the voice of a girl a few years younger than him.

He turns to face her and is surprised by what he sees.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Two Years Ago<strong>_

_Zuko is approached by two sides before the comet. He had not heard anything about it, nor did he remember it from school. His uncle has a habit of hiding things from Zuko, which angers him, but he also knows that it is probably for his protection. Sometimes the less he knows may be saving him from his father's wrath._

_ And Zuko reluctantly accepts that. But once he finds out the comet is coming, he remembers being told about how Sozin used it to take out the airbenders. And that his father would likely try to follow in the footsteps of history's most famous Fire Lord and take out the Earth Kingdom._

_ "You'll be imprisoned," Uncle says as soon as they are alone together. The group of soldiers that arrived, headed by Admiral Zhao, are waiting impatiently for Zuko to make up his mind. But he is under the impression that he does not have a choice._

_ "Or, we'll burn alive," Zuko says, shrugging. Uncle hesitates, seeming deep in thought. And Zuko bristles. "You just don't want to go back because you hate my father! Obviously he cares about me enough to not want me to _die _during this comet, that you conveniently told me nothing about!"_

_ Uncle just breathes slowly and calmly. Zuko clenches his fists. He wants to rage and snap, but Iroh is making that difficult for him._

_ "I have friends in the Earth Kingdom. They would help us," he says and Zuko feels a twist in his gut and a pounding in his heart. _

_ The decision is not one he wants to make. Complying with his father is obviously the wisest thing to do, but Zuko... his uncle has never misled him and his father has. Zuko knows very well that he is not forgiven, that his father thinks he is an embarrassment, and that Azula will get the throne in the end. But he _wants _to believe that the man who made him loves him, and this is a sign that he at least wants Zuko to stay alive through the end of the war._

_ Zuko is growing tired of looking for the Avatar. He was young when Hama died of old age, and he never put much thought into there being another Avatar. It did not feel like something that mattered to him until his father gave him the absurd condition that he could come home if he found the new Avatar._

_ That is trying to find a needle in a haystack. Maybe worse than that, given the number of people in the Earth Kingdom even if father does take the country during the comet._

_ "Zuko, make the right choice," Uncle says and Zuko chomps on his lower lip, unsure what to say or do. He always knew he would have to choose between Iroh and Ozai someday, but he did not like to imagine what would happen._

_ "I guess we'll run then." Zuko feels knots in his stomach. He feels like it may be the wrong choice, and that scares him._

_ But he trusts his uncle more than he trusts his father and sister._

_ So they run. And run._

_ Zuko spends his whole life running but getting nowhere._

* * *

><p>"Well, hello, Earth Kingdom girl," purrs a voice from behind Ty Lee. Ty Lee swallows and takes a deep breath. Azula utterly terrifies her and she does not know how to react to her presence.<p>

But the firebending lessons have been nice. And Azula _did _save her life; there is a debt there that Ty Lee does not know if she can ever repay. So, for now, she is loyal to Azula. It is not as if she has any family or friends anyway. She might as well find an ally in the girl who will be Fire Lord one day. Ty Lee dreamt big, but never that big.

"Hello, princess." Ty Lee smiles at her and Azula gives her a strange look. Ty Lee's heart skips a beat when she wonders if she has said something wrong, but Azula loosens her posture and walks into the small room Ty Lee has been allotted.

"Are you settling in?" she asks, strange pleasantries. She does not talk nearly as kindly to the soldiers she travels with. But Ty Lee knows better than to think that the princess sees her as more than an insect, as optimistic as she tries to be.

"Very nicely. You've been... kind," Ty Lee murmurs, now getting nervous.

"What can I say? I'm a very compassionate and generous person." She shrugs with a small twist of half of her lips. It makes Ty Lee feel slightly like vomiting, but she manages to stay calm.

"You look really nice," Ty Lee squeaks, not sure what else to say. The princess looks about to laugh, but she doesn't.

"I know I do," Azula says, sitting down on the windowsill. She is above Ty Lee and making her feel infinitesimally small. "Tell me about your parents. The Earth Kingdom peasants who had a firebender baby with so much... raw potential."

"Oh, well, they're not very interesting," Ty Lee says softly, studying Azula. Her nerves are increasing and she can feel her chest tightening.

"I'm interested," Azula says, leaning forward. Ty Lee bites down on her lip and tastes salt and metal.

"It's a long story. But... I guess we have time." Ty Lee gives Azula a look with sparkling eyes and the princess seems satisfied. Once more, her innocent look serves her well. "They owned a restaurant. And they were pretty stable. They had a lot of kids, and they never got along, and sometimes my father just didn't come home at all. I ran away when I was twelve."

"But you came back?" Azula asks, intrigued. She often dreamt of running away, but she never could do it. Her Nation relied on her, and as much as she longed to escape, she would never betray them. They would love her, when her detached father and absent mother would not.

"No. The town you found me in wasn't my hometown. I don't know what happened to them. To be honest, I completely don't care," Ty Lee says with a gentle shrug. "I didn't love them, as wrong as that is."

"Not everybody has parents worth loving," Azula replies and Ty Lee is surprised. She expected admonishment as she gets from most people when she tells them that.

"That's right," Ty Lee says softly and Azula tilts her head to the side for a moment.

"Have a nice night. We're going to Gaoling in the morning." Azula stands up and leaves as quickly and mysteriously as she came, and Ty Lee is not sure what to say.

She just thinks she is in a much more dangerous position than thief.


	3. Chapter 3

"I'm, uh, I'm Zuko," Zuko stammers, looking at the girl.

She is not making eye contact with him, and it is at that moment that he realizes she is blind. Her green dress does not suit her, for some reason. She looks to be younger than Zuko, but not a child, maybe thirteen. And her expression could kill a sparrowkeet.

"Why are you in my backyard?" She does not sound as scared as Zuko would imagine a young blind girl to be when a teenage boy has invaded her home. She almost sounds _amused _by Zuko, in a way that reminds him vaguely of Azula.

"I'm running from soldiers," Zuko admits, rubbing his neck. He looks around for guards and finds the two of them alone.

"Why?" she asks and Zuko shrugs before realizing she cannot see that.

"Because, uh─" Zuko is interrupted by a man stepping into the courtyard.

The armored man looks at Zuko, who puts his hands up in the air in surrender, and says, "I'm going to give you five minutes to get lost."

Zuko nods frantically but the blind girl reaches out and grabs his arm. He jumps from the sudden seizing as she says, "He's hiding from the Fire Nation. I want you to get him some lunch."

"Miss Beifong, I...?" The guard seems incredibly puzzled. Zuko is even more confused, particularly at the sudden light and regal tone of the brusque girl.

"You work for me. So let him inside," says the girl proudly as Zuko's golden eyes are wide.

The guard hesitantly nods and gestures for Zuko to follow him. It takes the mystery girl a moment, but she follows. Zuko notices that, despite being out in the sharp gravel of her manor's courtyard, she is not wearing any shoes.

"Those are, uh, nice bushes," Zuko says weakly and Toph shakes her head slowly with a momentary twitch of her lips. "They're very... well kept."

He enters the mansion and is impressed. The style is entirely different from the palace where he grew up, but it is equally magnificent and expensive. Green, gold and ornate stone dominate the house. The portraits must be worth a fortune. Zuko's experience with the Earth Kingdom has been decrepit mining towns and underground tunnels, not something that looks like it was ripped out of Caldera.

"This is nice," Zuko says and Toph cannot suppress her laughter this time.

"Okay, complimenting my parents _interior decorating _skills isn't going to stop us from handing you over to the Fire Nation," she says, finding that she likes this kid. He is dumb and that entertains her.

"You're not going to, are you?" Zuko asks, a rush of panic in his chest.

"Maybe." Toph shrugs with a small smirk. Of course they will not hand him over, but she likes to keep people on their toes. His increased heart rate _is _a little depressing, and so Toph betrays her fun side and says, "We're not going to hand you over to the Fire Nation. Relax, Twitchy."

"What?" Zuko examines his hands and sees them trembling. "How do you see that?"

And then he blushes nearly as red as his scar. He should not have pointed out that she was blind. But she just shrugs it off as the guard leads them to a main room in the house. Two well dressed adults are sitting on chairs, that, if ablaze, would remind him of the Fire Nation throne room.

"Who...?" Lao Beifong inquires, narrowing his eyes. He looks to the guard and the man simply shrugs. "Why is there a ruffian in my home?"

Zuko looks at his filthy clothes. He _does _fit the definition of ruffian at this point, as much as he would rather be seen as a prince.

"He jumped over the wall," Toph says kindly, her tone shifting drastically again. Zuko is not sure what to make of her. To him, she was brusque and blunt, to the guards, she was more regal than Azula, and to her parents, she has a soft voice of a weak woman. Baffling. "He's hiding from the Fire Nation soldiers and I couldn't let him get hurt without taking him to you first."

Zuko has never been more confused. But the woman's expression softens at the sight of Zuko and the man studies the prince closely.

"What's your name, boy?" Lao inquires as Poppy purses her lips.

"Lee," Zuko says and Toph cocks an eyebrow without meaning to.

He is lying.

* * *

><p>Ty Lee lies awake at night thinking about Azula's words. <em>Some parents aren't worth loving<em>. There clearly is a good deal to her, beneath the surface of glossy charm and stolid golden eyes. And Ty Lee wants to uncover it, as much as she is certain that will get her killed.

She can hear Azula talking to Mai in the other room. They are laughing and Ty Lee briefly wonders what it would be like to make Azula laugh. If it would feel nice or bad. She is entirely unsure.

While Ty Lee is not the sharpest stone in the pile, she does have a tendency to analyze people. And usually, she is right. And she is not just talking about auras. But Princess Azula is impossibly enigmatic, and her reasoning for rescuing Ty Lee is baffling. And then her willingness to kill Ty Lee after they were attacked.

Princess Azula is confusing in the worst way. The kind of way that involves a sexual attraction that neither of them can deny, but neither will ever mention.

And now she owes her some kind of life debt. It concerns Ty Lee on a number of levels. Owing things to the Fire Nation Princess is not a good position to be in. Owing your life to someone who gladly will take it from you, that is worrying. And being indebted in a way that is nearly possibly to pay off is troubling.

The door pushes open and Ty Lee sits straight up in surprise. It is Azula and Ty Lee realizes that she and Mai's room has become silent, but Ty Lee was so lost in her thoughts that she did not notice.

"What are you up to?" Azula asks, running her fingers along the frame of the door. Ty Lee feels a momentary flicker of fear. "Hm?"

"Trying... to sleep." Ty Lee slides further under the blankets but her arms are still freckled with goosebumps. Azula gently kicks the door shut and walks further inside. "But I can stay awake if you want me too."

Her bubbly tone has popped and is now dark and slow. Azula eyes her prisoner closely, intrigued by her. She touches Ty Lee's ankle gently with the tips of her fingernails and Ty Lee's leg shoots up, her knee nearly colliding with her own chin. Azula tries not to laugh.

"I'm not here to fuck you," Azula says and Ty Lee pretends she knew all along. But Azula made it feel as if it was going in that direction. "Do you have siblings?"

"A lot." The room is very quiet after that. Ty Lee squints in the shadows and tries to see Azula more fully, but it is futile. She is just a slender figure in the distorted darkness. "I always wanted to be an individual."

"So you became a thief?" Princess Azula seems unnaturally interested in Ty Lee's life.

For someone who is taking her as an advantageous addition and a slave... it feels abnormal. Something about Princess Azula's hazy hue-shifting aura makes Ty Lee uneasy. She is unpredictable and serpentine. Ty Lee prefers the crystalline clear and blunt.

"I became a circus act. Then I ran away again and had to be a thief to feed myself," Ty Lee explains feebly. Azula simply studies her.

"What did you do in the circus?" Azula purrs, crawling further up on the bed. Ty Lee is both terrified and aroused and she does not know what to make of those complex feelings.

"I was an acrobat, and contortionist, and, well, sometimes I fed the animals."

"Dangerous animals?" Azula murmurs and Ty Lee is certain the princess is flirting with her at this point. But given the fact that she is a slave, it is quite uncomfortable. "I like dangerous animals."

"A lot of dangerous animals." Ty Lee's eyes sparkle when the moonlight hits them and Azula likes it. Her gold eyes gleam in the dark like the dangerous animals Ty Lee fed. "And I travelled."

"To dangerous places?" Azula draws out her tone and Ty Lee feels trapped. She feels as if she is suffocating in the best way.

"Yes. That's the only reason to travel, right?" Ty Lee replies sweetly. Azula finds it funny that such an innocent, girlish voice could say such twisted and bold things. "I had a weird childhood and I was all trapped so I decided to have fun."

"Stealing your way around the world." Azula seems strangely enamored with theft.

"This is really out of line so please forgive me princess, but why are you so interested in stealing?" Ty Lee asks curiously. She always thought of it as a necessary evil. Azula would never have to steal because everything already belongs to her. Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, it _all _is hers.

"You want to know the best way to silently assert power over a man?" Azula asks, her tone shifting to strangely informative. Ty Lee is still disturbingly heated. "There are power positions and certain words and tones. But the small, simple way to do it, is to steal his food."

"His food?" Ty Lee is not sure if it is a joke or not. She has not heard Azula tell a joke in the two weeks she has known her and so she believes it is not.

"Yes. Taking food is taking power. That applies to basically anything someone thinks they need. But you grab a man's bowl of rice and you've taken his power," Azula says earnestly. "I guess that's my only experience with theft. I'm just interested in what made you think it was a good idea to try to pickpocket a princess."

"I didn't know you were a princess," Ty Lee whispers and Azula raises her right eyebrow.

"There was a royal procession. I was in expensive Fire Nation armor. The crown... don't you examine your marks?" Azula asks, clasping her hands over her stomach and lying down beside Ty Lee. Her breath intermingles with Ty Lee's and it feels sick but right.

"I aim high," is the only response Ty Lee can properly think of. Azula smiles. It always is with only half of her mouth. Always a smirk that expresses she has better things to do than smile, but she is amused nonetheless.

"Show me your circus act. You've shown me your stealing and you aren't very good at it, given I had to literally save your neck. So show me your circus act," Azula purrs and Ty Lee feels nervous. She is sweating despite the cold early spring night.

Ty Lee stands up.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Ten Years Ago<strong>_

_ Six year old Ty Lee plays with her dolls in the pretty house. It belongs to her mother's sister and it is one of the nicest in the entire gross town. It almost is as pretty as the Fire Nation man's mansion. The governor who is in charge here._

_She has two dolls. Her siblings have the same amount or more, and Ty Lee does not care, because hers are hers. And none of them are playing with Ty Lee anyway._

_ Mother and her aunt are arguing. Repeating Ty Lee's father's name and another male name that Ty Lee does not recognize._

_ "It isn't my fault that my sister is a whore!" aunt screams and Ty Lee looks up, her circular eyes wide. _

_ Mother throws her champagne glass and it shatters on the stone floor. A piece of glass flicks against her aunt's ankle and her lip twists in rage. And mother runs._

_ Ty Lee finds her mother in the kitchen, drinking, chain smoking those pricey Fire Nation cigarettes and Ty Lee feebly asks her if she is okay._

_ "The world is going to break you, Ty."_

_ Those are the only words of mother's that Ty Lee truly remembers._

* * *

><p>"Your name isn't Lee, is it?" Toph asks as soon as Lao and Poppy dismiss their daughter to show Zuko to the guest room.<p>

He explained he was on the run for getting into trouble with soldiers, that he is not a thief or a criminal but an enemy of the Fire Lord. _'An enemy of my enemy is my friend,' _Lao Beifong had said, and offered Zuko a place to stay for the night. Earth Kingdom hospitality is something Zuko has come to respect over the years.

Zuko sighs. "How did you know?"

"I'm blind, but I see more than most people. Let's leave it at that for now." Toph is not exactly going to explain her second life as the Blind Bandit to a weird guy who will not even give out his real name.

"My name is Zuko."

"Fire Nation, huh?" Toph crosses her arms. Zuko is the most interesting thing that has ever happened to her.

"The Fire Nation Prince. Well, not anymore. I got banished," Zuko says. "You've probably seen the wanted pos─never mind, you definitely haven't."

"A banished prince? That is so cool," Toph says, grinning. Zuko does not understand this girl at all, and it is making him nervous. "So what did you do? Murder? Please say murder."

"Uh... I spoke out of turn in a war meeting," Zuko says and Toph's expression falls into a small snarl of disappointment.

"You just got way less cool, Twitchy." She crosses her arms and Zuko rubs his neck.

"I need to get back to the rebels and my uncle. Can you help me?"

Silence. Zuko's heart is in his throat.

"I can probably get you back to your rebel friends," Toph replies finally, leaning against the door to his room. Zuko does not know what to say. "I like you, Twitchy. So I'm going to go out on a limb for you. _Don't _make me regret it. Tonight I'm going to Earth Rumble Six."

"What?" Zuko asks, raising an eyebrow.

"It's an earthbending tournament. And the Fire Nation knows nothing about it. Probably somebody there is into the whole rebel thing," Toph says with a confident shrug.

"You compete in earthbending tournaments?" Zuko asks, stunned. Toph shrugs again. "You're... interesting."

Toph shakes her head with a small twitch of her lips. This guy is a joke. She kind of likes it.

"I know," Toph replies with a shrug. "I hope you're good at sneaking out, because if I get caught because of you, I'm burying you in a rockalanche."

Zuko nods before realizing she can't see that and says, "Thank you."

"Don't get mushy on me," Toph snaps and Zuko recoils, his neck tensed.

* * *

><p>Azula wakes up and clears her mind. She isolates three goals she will accomplish, the first thing she does in the morning. Mai is beside her, rubbing her eyes and slowly waking with several loud yawns. It makes Azula want to punch her.<p>

"Did you fuck the slave girl last night?" Mai asks Azula, interrupting the maps of Gaoling Azula was going over in her mind.

"Morning is my time to carefully think," Azula says sharply and Mai laughs.

"You did fuck her, huh?" Mai smirks for a moment before her expression once more becomes stolid and blank.

"I didn't fuck her. But I came close. Really close." Azula crosses her arms. "Now let me do my morning thinking, will you?"

Mai just shrugs.

Ty Lee wakes up and Azula is gone. It does not take her long to remember what happened last night. Her body feels strange after how it escalated from an act that left Azula unimpressed, to an act that left Azula afraid. They got very near sex when Azula pushed herself away and left the room wordlessly, leaving Ty Lee to hope her neck will not be slit.

It still feels as if she could be executed at any moment. And maybe Azula wants that.

But she is taken casually and calmly. Azula has Ty Lee shackled once more and they move closer to Gaoling. That is there goal, because the rebels were in a skirmish only a few days prior right outside of the city. Information about Zuko could so easily be there. And there is always the chance of stumbling upon even more intriguing developments, like the Earth Kingdom girl.

Azula feels slightly heavy as she walks. She keeps thinking about how once Mai passed out from a concoction of sleeping herbs, Azula crept into her prisoner's room. She let herself get drawn in to the spell. The craving in her is perfectly natural. She knows that despite her coldness, her power to rival a god and the fact that she knows very well she is a monster, she is a human, at least partially.

But she feels as if Ty Lee is important somehow. There was something in her eyes that made Azula stop the execution. She _knows _it. The princess _knows _she must have _something _to do with the war or Zuko or the Avatar, even if she is a firebender and not an earthbender. She _knows _because the alternative is that Azula made a drastic move based on her hormones.

Perhaps, like Mai said, she just saved a hot chick in hopes of scoring.

And that... that scares Azula.

Finally, they approach the city. The silence was getting uncomfortable.

"Well, here's Gaoling," Azula says, gesturing at the beautiful stone buildings and the Fire Nation flags.

Ty Lee nods, grateful that Azula is speaking instead of silently sitting upon her palanquin and occasionally looking at Ty Lee with clear thoughts of last night on her mind. Mai flicks a switchblade in anticipation, eager to do _something_. Mai has been getting quite bored of late.

And within the city, Zuko walks through the door to Earth Rumble Six.


	4. Chapter 4

Azula realizes quickly that she and her posse will be unwanted within a city that is controlled by the Earth Kingdom. She watches from afar, contemplating her next move. Something inside of her _knows _that her brother is within the city of Gaoling.

He was last seen by soldiers pursuing him, and it is the hottest lead Azula has had yet.

"Tell me a story, Ty Lee," Azula snaps, the order scathing.

While she is the only person who addresses Ty Lee by name and not _prisoner_, something about how Azula looks at her makes her know Azula sees her as less than a person. It makes her wonder what she might have to go through now that she has an unpaid life debt to this princess. Ty Lee can only hope that helping her capture her brother will be enough to guarantee her release.

Ty Lee is certain Azula has a crush on her. It is pretty obvious to everyone. Ty Lee would usually love attention from a powerful person, but being the object of Azula's affections is genuinely scary at this point. Or maybe she is just a prisoner. Maybe.

"A real one or a fake one?" Ty Lee asks and Azula just shrugs, relaying that she does not care. "Alright, in this one town I stayed in after I first left the circus, there was this old story that went around. Apparently, back in the early colonies, there was this governor's daughter who fell in love with this common girl."

Azula is not paying attention, but Ty Lee keeps telling the story. Mai is hitting binoculars with the side of her hand as two runners are finding the girls Earth Kingdom clothes to try to sneak them into the town as young travelers.

"The common girl was going to be executed for theft," Ty Lee says honestly, and Azula's ears perk up slightly as she still is working for the infiltration of Gaoling. "But the governor's daughter pleaded with her father to spare her. He did. To repay her debt, she had to go away to work in coal mines, and the two girls would never see each other."

"Mhm." Azula is now bored. The _execution _part was interesting, but the forbidden love was not.

"But the governor's daughter was smart and knew her father was a liar. She knew he had planned to kill the common girl. So she and the common girl conspired to murder him," Ty Lee says and Azula looks up, now watching her instead of the town she hopes her brother is hiding in.

"Did they?" Azula asks, genuinely curious.

"Yes. They killed him, but they were caught." Silence. Not the happy ending Azula was imagining. "They strung them up in the town, the Fire Nation soldiers, and they were holding hands when they died."

"That's not a very pleasant story," Azula says quietly, cocking an eyebrow.

"They wanted to die on their own terms, or something. Being without each other was worse than death, or living the torture of uh, never mind..." Ty Lee's cheeks turn bright pink.

"The torture of living under the law of the Fire Nation," Azula finishes smoothly with a smirk. "The Earth Kingdom intrigues me. We give them _so much _but they demonize us. Repulsive. It's no wonder we rule the world."

Ty Lee nods. "You're probably right, princess." Silence. "I saw people executed once, hanged. It was for sleeping together even though she was Fire Nation and he was Earth Kingdom."

Her voice cracks slightly, ever so slightly. Azula instantly reads it in her eyes; Ty Lee _knew _those people who were hanged. And she begins to wonder if perhaps they were Ty Lee's parents, and she has not been forthcoming yet about her past.

"I saw someone executed. She was a nanny of mine, seeing as my father just passed me off to them as soon as my mother died. I told her a secret, she tried to get involved, and my father had me watch as she was burned alive," Azula says calmly, her voice not at all reflecting the horror of her words. Ty Lee is unnerved by it and picks at her fingers, itching to be free of the bonds she is in, both physical and metaphysical.

"Wow," Ty Lee mumbles, unsure what else to say.

They are interrupted by Azula's runners returning with the disguises. It relieves Ty Lee incredibly as she gets up and is unshackled, as she Mai, and Azula duck inside of a tank to get dressed.

Azula leads the way as Mai and Ty Lee follow her. Mai keeps her amber eyes on Ty Lee like a hawk, waiting for her to make a false move now that she is out of her handcuffs. It makes Ty Lee uncomfortable, even more uncomfortable than the clear sexual tension between Mai and Azula.

She just tries to smile and go with the flow, as she always does. As has always served her well in life. Azula and Mai approach the gates and have to wait for guards to shuffle in and out, all looking confused. The princess holds her tongue, although she would like to say some snide things that would make them cry.

"You told her about your nanny?" Mai whispers as Ty Lee has been absorbed into petting an ostrich-horse. "You don't just _tell _people things about your personal life or past."

"I felt like it," Azula says with a small shrug. "It isn't as if it's my darkest secret. I don't trust her Mai. Don't worry. I just find her intriguing and I kind of want to... I don't know."

Azula is spared from having to deal with Mai's suspicions about their prisoner when the guards finally get themselves together and greet Azula at the gate.

"My name is Chiaki and we're just here to visit relatives," Azula says, sounding seamlessly casual and innocent. Ty Lee is very impressed, looking up from her new animal friend to watch the princess work.

"How long?" the guard asks, already looking as if he thinks he is wasting his time.

"A day or two," Azula says without missing a beat and the guard nods.

"Go right in," he states before muttering something to himself about his job being pointless.

And the staff of Gaoling simply let the Princess of the Fire Nation inside of their walls. It is awfully depressing and pitiful. Azula wonders why they have even been at war for so long. The Fire Nation should have quenched out the dying flames of the Earth Kingdom long ago.

"Do you know where he is?" Ty Lee asks and Azula slowly shakes her head.

"No. But he's a very noticeable boy with a huge scar and I'm sure someone has seen him. Or at least we can find something in this town that implies where he went," Azula says confidently, leading the way into the bustling town.

Ty Lee looks around and for a second starts thinking about escape. It is a dangerous thought, but one that quickly consumes her. She is surrounded by such crowds of people that she probably could get away from Princess Azula and her life debt.

Maybe when they get deeper into the city... she can make a break for it. That would be ideal, she supposes. And so she walks very closely to Azula and tries to keep her at ease, to ensure that she can make her getaway.

Gaoling may be a blessing to the thief imprisoned by the princess.

* * *

><p>Zuko walks into Earth Rumble Six with great discomfort. Toph seems to take it casually, and he still has yet to figure out this girl. She points at the seats without looking, which is still as strange to him as when he first saw it. Her blindness makes him feel clumsy around her, and then he feels uncomfortable.<p>

Still, she seems pretty interesting. Unpredictable, if a bit scathing. Zuko does not know if he should trust her, but he does not have any other options if he is going to get back together with his uncle and the rest of the rebels.

"Okay, I'm going to go get changed, and I'm gonna try to find out if there's anyone who knows how to get you back to your friends," Toph says, walking away before he can ask any questions. He just slumps in his seat and decides watching an earthbending tournament is a welcome change from the grim reality of rebellion against an all powerful empire.

Zuko looks around as a man who he thinks has slathered some kind of oil all over his muscles declares the beginning of the tournament.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, outside, Azula, Mai and Ty Lee wander through the darkening streets of Gaoling. Ty Lee is thinking about her escape incessantly as they are on the trail. Azula has casually questioned a few people until she found that a boy with a scar was walking with a blind girl through the streets and drawing a good deal of attention.<p>

"I hope that bribe worked," Mai groans as she sits down on a bench. "We could've just given some guy our money and he went and ratted on the Fire Nation girls."

"We'll be fine. Kitano will bring us Zuko, he will get paid, and all will work out," Azula says softly as Ty Lee thinks further about escape. "I promise."

She looks at the glance Mai and Azula exchange.

They must have been together once. Or close to it. And she does not know why she cares about that so much. There is nothing _attractive _about Azula, which is why Ty Lee is hoping to make a run for it.

Even if there is something appealing about a life with more purpose than money and street performances.

She silently waits, fidgeting and analyzing every escape route.

* * *

><p>"You are..." Zuko is at a loss for words. He can only squint at Toph as she runs her fingers along her belt as if it is no big deal. "How... how are you so...?"<p>

He just watched her wipe the floor with her opponents. Zuko has never been more shocked in his life as he watched her earthbend as if it were as easy as breathing.

She laughs, clearly amused by how flustered he is. Zuko is confused by this girl. Incredibly, incredibly confused by her.

"Because I'm blind I must be helpless, right?" Toph shrugs and shoves the belt at Zuko. He has to think quickly to catch it in his hands and not be shoved onto the ground by the force of her handing it to him. "It's yours. I've got a few. Okay, I found a guy who can help you get back to the rebels without the Fire Nation noticing. I'll take you to him."

Zuko clears his throat and follows her across the rocky, uneven ground and to the back rooms of the underground arena.

"Did you ever think about fighting the Fire Nation? You could do some real damage," Zuko says, stunned and Toph shrugs and swallows.

"My parents have no idea that I can bend like this. And I don't... just don't ask," Toph snaps, getting huffy by the end. She does not need this Fire Nation boy showing up and questioning her life and her decisions.

Zuko is expecting to be taken to one of the competitors, but instead he is shown a mousy young man with a mop of dark hair and a book in his hand that details equipment logs. The Boulder is showing off to two girls near the stone lockers, and Zuko and Toph find themselves in a shadowy corner with the man.

"This is my friend, Lee," Toph says firmly and the small man nods quickly, looking Zuko up and down. Zuko waves feebly. "The one I told you about."

The man nods. "I'm Kitano, and I can help you. As soon as the arena clears out, we'll go out through the back entrance and we'll make our way from there."

Zuko is unsure if he can trust Kitano, but he does trust Toph, even if he just met her. The people Zuko works with always tell him to be less trusting, but Zuko sometimes thinks the best in people, even if it is a fault. His uncle tells him never to lose that, and he values his uncle much more than the people they work with.

He sits down and looks at Toph, who is turning to leave.

"I've got to get home before my parents notice I'm missing. Good luck getting back to the rebels," she says and Zuko opens and closes his mouth before realizing she cannot see that he wants her to stay.

"Thanks for your help," he begrudgingly admits and Toph is gone.

He twiddles his thumbs and avoids strange looks from earthbenders until Kitano guides him out, sliding through the back entrance. His hands are shaking and Zuko watches with narrowed eyes.

"Why are you so nervous?" Zuko asks, but his question is answered by two large men he saw guarding Earth Rumble Six snapping handcuffs onto him. "What are you doing? I'm on your side!"

Kitano swallows and turns to face Zuko. "I'm on the side of who pays me the most."

Zuko grits his teeth as he looks around frantically for who could have paid for him. Soldiers, those opposing the rebels... someone sent by his father.

The truth is to revealed to be worse than what he imagined. "My, my you were surprisingly easy to catch."

"_Azula_." Silence. "What are you doing in the Earth Kingdom? Shouldn't father be keeping you safe at home?"

Azula makes herself seen, the moonlight reflecting on her skin and shining in her tightly tied hair. She smirks at him faintly as he breathes in deeply and tries to think of an escape.

"Father found out about your little rebel stunt and sent me to claim you. But not before you lead me right to your little fortress outside of Ba Sing Se," Azula murmurs sweetly and Zuko heats up his hands before rock is clamped onto him by the bodyguards. "Come on. It'll be fun."

"You can't do this," Zuko snarls, looking around frantically.

"Oh, yes I can." Azula steps forward at him and he flinches, but not before the ground shakes, the bodyguards hit the floor and Azula is sent backwards through the air, screaming.

The stone around his hands shatters and someone grabs his arm and pulls him up.

"Go, go," Toph says sharply and Zuko is bewildered.

Azula pushes herself up from the rubble of the street as two girls appear from behind her. Zuko squints and thinks one of them is Mai, but the other he does not recognize.

"Come on, Twitchy," Toph snarls with terrifying force and Zuko is snapped out of his stunned reverie.

He starts running with Toph as she clashes with Azula. The handcuffs are tight on his wrists as he ducks around trees and pedestrians as he and Toph are running towards the gates of the city. They are not too far away; they have a chance of beating Azula to them. A slim chance, but a chance.

Toph clashes with Azula, Zuko dodges knives and realizes it is definitely Mai who is helping Azula. Azula is absorbed in her blows as she fights. Mai is out once Toph hits her in the hand with a chunk of rock and she curses and stumbles to a stop.

Zuko loses sight of the other girl, but it is the last thing on his mind.

"Jump the fence, Twitchy," Toph says fiercely and Zuko nods, taking one look at Azula, and going.

Toph uproots the street as Azula starts to conjure lightning. She follows Zuko as the princess stumbles back, looking for a way over the rubble.

Mai catches up to Azula and the princess examines her.

"Okay, we lost them big time. We're not going to make any progress running through the forest all night," Mai says and Azula has to agree with her.

It would be ridiculous to expend that energy. The girl who saved Zuko is smart. Much smarter than Zuko.

"She's the Avatar. The blind girl is the Avatar," Azula says with fierce conviction, although they only saw the blind girl at Zuko's side bend earth. "She has to be."

Azula's leg moves as if she wants to run after them, but she realizes she has little hope of smashing her way through a wall of rock and making it through the winding forests, just as Mai says. She grits her teeth, glancing at Mai and hating how often her best childhood friend is right.

Azula turns to her left and sees that the girl beside her is no longer there.

"Mai," Azula snaps and Mai opens her eyes. She is slumped against the stone wall of an alleyway, catching her breath and rubbing her fingers. She thinks they might be broken. "Where's our prisoner? You were supposed to be watching her!"

"I'm sorry, princess, but I was a little preoccupied with my fingers being smashed into bits by flying rocks," Mai snarls before regretting it. "She can't have gotten far. Let's go."

Mai does not know why Azula did not _expect _Ty Lee to try to escape at some point. It is unlike the princess, who views everyone to be as slippery and untrustworthy as herself. But Mai holds her tongue and she and Azula start walking through the nearly empty streets.

They walk for some time, dodging pedestrians and wondering if they truly did lose the girl. Azula dips into an alleyway and walks before stopping. She holds up one hand when she hears rattling breath from behind discarded boxes and crumbled rocks.

Mai exchanges a glance and they both nod at each other.

"She's not worth it," Azula murmurs. "We have my brother and the Avatar to catch."

They turn and start to walk away, but Azula instantly whips around the second she hears a foot scuff against the ground. Ty Lee screams as two whips of blue fire come at her, and she kicks off of the wall and jumps onto the roof of the restaurant she was hiding behind.

Azula follows her up and Ty Lee starts to run, nearly dancing on air as she moves. The princess is incredibly impressed by the acrobatics and combat, and even more certain that there is more to this thief than she knows.

And so help her, the moment Azula has Ty Lee in chains, she will know _everything_, even if it takes hot blades and severed limbs.

She throws fire every which way, not caring that the people in the town will see her. Ty Lee leaps from the edge of a roof and Azula skids to a stop, catching herself just barely before falling. She can see the thief running and Azula takes a deep breath before jumping after her, barely steadying her fall with her flames, and continues to chase her.

When they reach the walls of the city, Ty Lee gasps for breath, wipes sweat from her face with her sleeve and jumps up the wall, grasping for anything. Her hand hits the top and she rolls to dodge fire coming at her full force.

Ty Lee is blinded by blue, loses her hold on the wall, and falls to the ground.

The next thing she sees is a pointed shoe on her chest, and long, slender leg above it.

"Don't even think about running again," Azula purrs, rage swelling inside of her.

Ty Lee closes her eyes as Azula handcuffs her and makes her escape before the citizens can apprehend the firebender burning down their buildings.

* * *

><p>Toph bends rock into a variety of shapes until she finally makes one that undoes Zuko's handcuffs. He rubs his sore, chafed skin and looks at her closely.<p>

They are in the woods outside of Gaoling, having barely escaped.

"Why did you come back for me?" Zuko asks, stunned.

"I had a bad feeling. So I guess Kitano got paid off by that girl?" Toph asks as she touches the ground and makes sure for the thousandth time they are not being followed.

"Did you know he would do that?"

"Not that he _would_, but a lot of people care more about money than a war. I sure do," Toph admits and Zuko just sighs and leans against the tree. "I'll take you to the rebels, I guess. We'll do better together than apart."

"Your parents, though..." Zuko asks, studying her. She clenches her jaw.

"I'll go home once I drop you off with your friends. It's not wrong of me to want to do something exciting for once. Because, Zuko, fighting that girl, the _chase_, saving your butt from those goons... it was the most fun I've had in a long time," Toph says. "But don't get too cozy, okay? What I say goes on this trip."

"Uh, of course." Zuko rubs his neck, yet again stunned.

He looks at the trail going towards the fortress, then towards Gaoling.

And now he realizes he has more to worry about than soldiers and bounties

Azula is after him.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: There's some mild sexual content in this chapter, so be forewarned.

* * *

><p>After Zuko and Toph escaped, the Fire Nation has set up camp outside of the forest. It is a labyrinth, according to those who know the area, and they need to be prepared if they are going to set out into it and find Zuko.<p>

Azula and Mai are heatedly debating their prisoner, and her attempt at escape in Gaoling.

"I told you it was bad news to take a damned prisoner," Mai sighs, shrugging as if it is not a brutal act of betrayal. Azula is livid, and pacing outside of the light red tent that has their Earth Kingdom girl bound and waiting in.

"I just had this feeling she was important," Azula replies sharply, although she does not think she is even kidding herself at this point.

"You had a feeling she was hot," Mai says quietly and Azula groans. She is right and Azula hates it. And now she has to face the fact that _of course _Ty Lee was not staying with them of her own free will.

Azula grits her teeth and walks into the tent, summoning her courage and walking inside. Ty Lee is watching insects scurrying across the grass, not struggling against her bonds or even showing fear on her expression. The princess walks to her slowly, her eyes flickering up and down.

"You tried to run, huh?" is Azula's chilly question as she walks in.

Ty Lee looks at the table beside her that was left by the soldiers who slipped in and out. It is stacked with instruments of torture, and now Ty Lee has broken out into a sweat. Her wrists are clenched and, even with Azula's regular firebending lessons, she feels useless. If she could somehow wriggle free she could chi block Azula and escape again, but she thinks she would be caught by the myriad soldiers.

Azula stands in front of Ty Lee, looking her up and down. Her gold eyes pick apart Ty Lee like a predator examining its prey. Finally, she seizes a chair with a loud sound that makes Ty Lee squeak in fear, and sits down across from her. Her legs are open slightly and Ty Lee's eyes fall there before she realizes what she is doing and panics.

"Princess, I'm sorry," Ty Lee whispers, although she knows her fate is likely already sealed. "I panicked and ran and it was stupid. And now... you're going to have me killed, aren't you?"

"Hmm, perhaps," Azula replies, shrugging and tilting her elegant head to the side. "I haven't decided yet."

Ty Lee swallows and tries not to be so afraid. If she is going to die, she supposes that she is going to die. And if she is going to live a slave, she is going to live a slave. She believes in destiny, and that things _do _work out in the end, no matter what Princess Azula decides to do to her.

"Why did you save me the first time? The Fire Nation isn't famous for being merciful," Ty Lee whispers, deciding she has nothing to lose at this point. Azula will kill if she wants to kill her, and spare her if she wants to spare her.

Azula hesitates, contemplating her answer. She tries to tell herself that it was because she thought Ty Lee could be important to her cause.

_Because I thought she was pretty_, is all Azula can justify her actions with. It is a disappointing realization for a master of battle and intellect. To spare someone solely because they are attractive.

Ty Lee waits, barely blinking her luminescent eyes, before Azula answers her.

She answers by removing herself from her chair and touching her lips to Ty Lee's. The pickpocket's eyes flash wide in shock as Azula presses more fiercely, their teeth pressing together from the force.

Azula finally pulls away as Ty Lee is left breathless and concerned.

With the bitter realization of what she has done, Azula leaves the tent wordlessly.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Zuko and Toph have been walking through the labyrinthine forest for hours. Zuko is getting exhausted, while Toph still looks at the top of her game. They have not spoken and Zuko is uncomfortably trying to think of a topic for conversation.<p>

"So, uh, care to elaborate on the badass earthbending?" Zuko asks after nearly twenty silent minutes of walking with Toph.

Toph shrugs and Zuko rubs his neck. He clamps his mouth shut and just walks silently beside her, unsure what else to do to break the tension. Prince Zuko never was much of a social person, particularly with mysterious strangers.

"I guess we have a really long walk," Toph admits with a sigh. "I was born blind, but I've never had any problem seeing. I see with earthbending."

"With... earthbending?" Zuko truly was not sure how she had perfect vision but was clearly blind, but seeing with earthbending seems outlandish to him.

"It's why I don't wear shoes," she says, wriggling her toes even though she does not know if Zuko is looking or not. He is. He is staring at her, in fact, intrigued by what she is saying.

"That's... pretty incredible," Zuko has to admit and Toph just shrugs. "You're pretty talented."

"I know," Toph responds with a shrug.

Zuko tries not to groan. "You remind me of my sister."

Toph cocks an eyebrow. "You have a sister?"

"She's, uh," Zuko replies, rubbing his sore neck, "kind of the girl who attacked us."

He expects Toph to be angry, but she bursts into hysterical laughter. Zuko flushes a slight red as he tries to ignore the mild humiliation.

"She's good," Toph admits. "Not as good as me, though."

"You certainly don't lack confidence," Zuko remarks and Toph laughs again. He thinks he may be traveling with a crazy person, even if he owes her his life.

Toph keeps walking before asking, "So, don't take this as me being interested in you, Twitchy, but, you have a sister; do you have a girlfriend?"

"I don't know how I could _not _take that as you being interested in me," Zuko replies with a laugh and Toph makes a grunting sound out of annoyance. "Alright, alright. I... I _had _a girlfriend, I guess. For a little while. She was a rebel like me, and first she hated me, then we wound up together."

"The best kind of love story," Toph says and Zuko cannot tell if she is being sarcastic or not. "Alright, that was a boring answer. Tell me about your sister."

Zuko pauses. He does not think that Toph is going to be interested in his past with Azula, and how she was always better than him, how she was beloved and he was scorned. Like the Fire Nation, in the Earth Kingdom, discussing personal matters and feelings is frowned upon. In a time of endless war, machismo and strength are valued above all else.

"We don't get along," Zuko replies calmly.

"Well, I could tell that by her trying to burn you alive," Toph replies before shrugging and picking up her pace.

Zuko sighs and wonders what he has gotten himself into with this earthbender.

* * *

><p>The afternoon after Azula kissed Ty Lee, Ty Lee studies Azula closely as she touches the spoon to her lips. It burns the chapped parts, but she opens her mouth and swallows without protesting, mostly because of the severe look in the princess's gold eyes.<p>

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Azula demands, setting the spoon back into the bowl of soup. "It's your fault you're tied up, running away like that. You can't just _run _from the Fire Nation."

Ty Lee rubs her coral lips together. "I know that." There is an uncomfortable silence before Azula presses the spoon against Ty Lee's lips again. The pickpocket has no idea why the princess herself is feeding the prisoner, but she is not protesting.

"Princess," Ty Lee says after swallowing, feeling slightly uncomfortable. "I haven't been entirely honest with you about my parents or my past."

"Go on," Azula says, as she had expected as much. The cheating parent, it all... felt off.

"My mother was a firebender. She was the daughter of the governor of the colony I was born in, and then she ran off with my father, a miner, and had seven kids," Ty Lee admits weakly and Azula's eyes flash like gold in the cold sun. "But then my father died. And my mother moved back to live with her parents. I didn't really understand too much at the time."

They are silent for a moment. "So, you're half Fire Nation."

"Mhm," Ty Lee admits softly. "Not that it matters too much. I might as well be Earth Kingdom. Anyway, I wasn't raised by insurgents or thieves. I was raised by a man who was fully supportive of your grandfather and father, and that's what I still believe. But he hated me... because of what I am and... so I ran away to be wanted."

Azula hesitates. "I can understand why you would run. I never, of course, had that option, given that I am the sole viable heir of the Fire Nation. But it must have been hard being raised by someone who saw you as an abomination."

"Yes. That's why my firebending is a mess." Ty Lee fidgets slightly and the ropes burn against her skin. "And that's why I'm loyal to you and the Fire Nation. If I could strip away my Earth Kingdom heritage, I would."

The princess examines her for a long time.

"You know, you have a beautiful aura, princess," Ty Lee says and the dark tone she adopted when discussing her true heritage becomes the light, bubbly voice that Azula is baffled and intrigued by. "It's... commanding."

"I don't believe in auras," Azula replies with a shrug, hoping Ty Lee did not see the blush on her cheeks at the long, sweet compliment. Even if it was complimenting something that does not exist.

"Oh," Ty Lee says softly, again gazing at Azula. "I'm sorry I ran. I panicked... I..."

"You _are _a prisoner. And my judgment was poor. I am going to keep a much closer eye on you until we return to the Fire Nation," Azula purrs, setting down the soup and setting her hand on Ty Lee's aching knee.

"You're not executing me? Or leaving me in the woods to die?" Ty Lee is completely stunned, her already protuberant eyes wide and sparkling with hope.

"Oh, I'll do worse than that if you try to run from me again. Believe me," Azula says, her words suddenly very threatening. Ty Lee feels cold at the darkness in her tone. "But for now, you're mine, and I fully intend to bring you back to the Fire Nation, to remain mine. I did save you from being executed, after all. More than once now."

There is a silence as Ty Lee's heart pounds. She does not know what Princess Azula wants from her, but she is afraid that it is nothing good.

Azula leans forward and kisses Ty Lee on the lips, stunning her beyond belief.

The princess lingers for a moment, fighting the tingling arousal within her, and she finally breaks away. Ty Lee is left breathless and completely confused.

"Don't fuck up again, Earth Kingdom Girl," Azula purrs sweetly before leaving the tent.

Ty Lee could swear someone could see her heart thumping through her chest.

* * *

><p>After a painfully long day of walking, Zuko and Toph lie down to go to sleep after Toph makes an impressive earth tent. Zuko has seen a couple of them made on the spot by Earth Kingdom soldiers, but this is definitely new.<p>

Toph lies down and Zuko tends the fire for a few more moments before quenching it and removing the smoke from the air. He lies beside her, tugging at his clothes to try to make a blanket for himself in the cold Earth Kingdom night.

The earthbender is already fast asleep, as soon as her head hit the ground, but Zuko lies awake. His worries about Azula are consuming him, as are his concerns about his friends.

Azula after him means that father is taking the rebels more seriously than Zuko had thought. And that spells trouble for anyone who wants to see the Fire Nation brought down.

Being hunted by Azula gives Zuko chills, and he does not sleep a wink, knowing she must be hot on his trail by now.

* * *

><p>That night, Azula feels the searing craving inside of her that forcing herself to sleep cannot satiate or silence. She turns to Mai, who is breathing steadily beside her but still not yet asleep. So... available, so... desirable. Maybe Azula is finding that she wants her slave more, but Mai has always been her true love.<p>

Even if it is not as reciprocated as Azula would like it to be.

"I want you," Azula whispers into Mai's ear.

They are lying together in the dead of the night, waiting to go track Zuko further in the morning. Azula's fingertips run up and down Mai's arm, giving her goosebumps and making her shiver slightly. _Yes_, Mai wants it, but she also knows that it is a terrible idea, and she has resisted getting involved with Azula for a very long time.

Azula adds, "Just one night. It can't hurt."

Mai picks at her fingernails, unsure what to do. She thinks this is related to Azula's crush on the extremely distracting prisoner. It likely does. And Mai does not know what to do. She has never known what to do about she and Azula's complex feelings for each other.

"I... okay," Mai agrees, unsure if she should, but feeling the tension of the night just as much as Azula is. "I mean... don't get the wrong idea."

"It's just sex. I'm not stupid," Azula purrs, hot breath against Mai's skin. It makes her feel cold but hot as she touches her lips to Azula's and savors the taste.

Azula's lips run along her body as she rolls up Mai's shirt and Mai helps her pull it over her head. Mai has given in more times than she is proud of over the course of their hunt for Zuko. But tonight it feels slightly sick, because clearly Azula's infatuation with their Earth Kingdom prisoner is already starting to go so far.

Their bodies are rocked until their skin is red.

And when Azula sleeps, she dreams of her prisoner. Dreams of stripping off her clothes and dropping them into blazing blue fire, watching the muslin cloth incinerate. And then slipping onto her body and claiming it as her own. Her prisoner's body.

_Her prisoner_.

The princess gets out of bed, trying to ignore the dream that warmed her thighs, as Mai lies naked, sleeping peacefully, dresses herself, ties her hair into a topknot and goes to get to work on tracking Zuko through these sprawling woods that have any number of paths he could have taken. And with his Avatar friend, Azula knows she has a full plate.

The sexual satisfaction makes it easier, soothed the headache.

But Azula knows that now is when she must focus, if she is to succeed.


	6. Chapter 6

"Do you have any idea where we're going?" Zuko exclaims and birds vacate the trees.

"I've been following you," Toph replies, genuine laughter in her tone. She cannot believe this kid... _wow_. "Have you been _following me_?"

They are screwed and Toph cannot help but find it hilarious. The Fire Nation is trailing them as they are probably walking in circles in this labyrinth of a forest. Zuko growls in rage and Toph can feel heat of flames near her, feel the skip of a beat in his heart when he realizes that he is so _lost_.

"We're going to die in these woods," Zuko breathes and Toph can feel him slam against a tree and then sit down. She is still trying her best to contain her laughter ─ _okay_, pretending to be trying to contain it.

"It's an adventure!" Toph exclaims, genuinely thrilled by the prospect of being lost in the woods. Zuko is now _certain _that he is traveling with a crazy person, and being pursued by his sister and her dangerous crew of people who would tear him into bits for fun.

"Ugh. Let's... try to find a path," Zuko says, realizing he has to be the level headed person now. He has worked with a number of different people in his dealings with the rebels, and their madness is _nothing _compared to this pint sized rockalanche.

"_That _I can do, Twitchy," Toph says, kneeling down and touching the earth. He waits, hoping she is not messing with him, and then she nods her head to the side. "The earth is all paved a little ways to our left."

"_Thank you_," Zuko breathes, frustration seeping into his exasperated tone. He walks with Toph towards the paved path and he, thankfully, finds it. They start walking to wherever this path will take them, and Zuko just hopes it is not into the maw of something or someone dangerous.

"So, this wasn't a friendly banishment, was it?" Toph inquires, again asking invasive personal questions that the Fire Nation would not stand for. Zuko finds it odd that she is so sharp and rough, yet she seems to want to gut him for information like they are discussing the weather. "A _lotta _people seem to want you dead."

"You ask a lot of questions..." Zuko murmurs, squinting at her for a moment. The faster he gets to the rebels, the better.

Toph contemplates that accusation for a moment, supposing it _is _true. She happens to be quite curious about this Banished Prince Twitchy. Her parents forced her to be demure and weak and pretty. Now she is wandering the woods with an escaped convict, and her mouth is not sure how to catch up with her brain. It feels ridiculous, as excited for this shift in her life as she is.

"Alright, alright, let's make this... more interesting," Toph offers and Zuko groans quietly. "I ask you a question, you ask me a question. There. Happy. I mean, I have a right to know who I'm traveling with, particularly when he has a bunch of bloodthirsty soldiers after him."

"Yeah, okay," Zuko sighs, knowing he _is _asking a lot of her at this point. "Alright, it wasn't a friendly banishment. I publicly humiliated my father. There. Now tell me how you learned earthbending?"

"Badgerm─oh _no_." Toph stops and Zuko nearly has a heart attack. Her expression is suddenly gravely serious. "Why are all those people in chains?"

Zuko steps forward slightly, and sees what she is talking about.

They are at the precipice of a town, and in the middle of it, a slave auction is being held.

"It's a slave auction," Zuko says, kneeling in the foliage. Katara would damn force him to free them all, even if it meant they had to sleep in a cave for four days to hide from the soldiers and socialites.

"A... what?" Toph asks, baffled. She seemed so confident, casual, to the point of being annoying to Zuko. But she seems genuinely confused by the idea of slavery, and its prevalence.

"A _slave auction_. We should avoid them."

But then Zuko sighs. If he is going to get caught by Azula anyway...

* * *

><p>"Hold this," Azula orders and Ty Lee obeys. Her fingers brush against Azula's as the stack of maps shifts into her hands and she feels a surge of electricity that she does not think has anything to do with lightning.<p>

_Stupid, _Ty Lee reminds herself, _it is stupid to have a crush on your evil captor. Even when she is such a good kisser..._

They are in a disgustingly quaint little town in the middle of the forest. If you could _call it _a town. It rests in a clearing, and the most civilized portion of it is a mill on the river, and the rest is just a few houses and an inn for travelers.

Azula waits impatiently with Mai and Ty Lee at her sides as her men question all of the inhabitants and place the insignificant town on lockdown to see if anyone has seen Zuko and the Avatar.

Boredom, boredom.

* * *

><p>In a bunker near Ba Sing Se, Katara, Sokka and Suki are sitting at the kiddy table and all griping about it. And Katara is annoyed that Zuko is not here griping as well, and being as whiny as usual. She cannot believe she <em>misses <em>his whining.

"Zuko's been gone for a long time," Katara murmurs, sipping her tea and finding it more bitter than usual.

The Water Tribe was not large on _tea_. Warm drinks were common of course in the frigid tundra, but warm drinks were not made with these herbs that would cost your whole left jaw and your firstborn child in the Southern Water Tribe but are a copper piece a dozen in the Earth Kingdom.

"Well, I'm sorry that your boyfriend isn't back yet," Sokka bristles and Katara rolls her cobalt eyes. And then he sees the look of concern in the eyes of the man who has just handed Katara her tea. "I'm sure Zuko is okay. He's not that smart, but he's quick and knows the ground."

Iroh shrugs. He does not know what else to do but shrug, seeing as he and the other leaders got the news that Zuko is being _pursued_ and possibly is in the company of the Avatar. Iroh felt it unnecessary to tell Sokka and Katara about it, until their father decided they should know.

There are many reports of Avatars, and they only serve to let people down when they get their hopes up. The report of who is _pursuing _Zuko, is of no interest to the peoples of the Water Tribe and Earth Kingdom, but it is what is making Iroh genuinely nervous.

Azula being sent after Zuko means that Ozai is taking Zuko seriously.

And for a long time, Ozai not considering Zuko a threat was the only thing that protected the boy.

Iroh sips from his own cup of tea, and finds he has left it unattended so long that it has become cold.

* * *

><p>It has been two hours of investigating this podunk town, and Azula is about to burn it all to the ground. But she must be patient if she is to catch her prey... <em>ugh<em>. Patience is not bred into royalty.

"Ty Lee, want to practice your firebending?" Azula sighs, studying her fingernails.

"Yes," Ty Lee says, fearing that she sounds too eager. Azula takes her and Mai inhales sharply.

This crush of Azula's is going to be pricey, and Mai knows it. And _everyone _knows it. Last night Azula had her best man sent back to the fucking Fire Nation because he told her they should ship their Earth Kingdom girl to a prison instead of drag her along with them.

It is... worrying.

"Uh," Ty Lee says as Azula loosens her bonds and situates them near the water, "why are you fighting so hard to keep me?"

"You are in no position to ask," Azula says sharply as she cracks her knuckles. "I am a deity and you are an _insect_. So keep your mouth shut and let me teach you how to make a small fireball."

Ty Lee blinks once, now immensely confused. But she quietly obeys, enjoying her lesson.

Noticing how Azula's cheeks flush ever so slightly when their skin touches, and becoming gradually more and more confused by the nature of her relationship with the princess.

This is _weird_.

* * *

><p>Night has fallen and the town has proven fruitless. Azula is testy, everyone around her is utterly terrified. And now they travel to find a campsite and to pick up the trail of Zuko again.<p>

"Uh, Mai," the prisoner says and Mai looks at her, cocking an eyebrow. Mai does not seem to want to hear it. "Do you think... do you think Azula... _likes me_?"

Mai laughs and it is a terrifying sound to Ty Lee. She may have only known Mai for a few weeks, but she has yet to hear her laugh. The sound itself it pretty, but it gives the sensation of razors scraping along Ty Lee's skin, peeling her open and mocking her insides.

"_Likes you_? That's absurd. Come on now, really?" Mai says, and she does not know _why _she says it. Azula _does _like Ty Lee, and it is completely going to get them killed at some point. But Mai... hm, she is not quite sure. Perhaps just to see the look on the face of the girl who is causing her so much trouble.

Mai is not a very nice girl; you have to be that way to keep up with Azula, who went through friends like cheap candles. She feels a small twinge of regret for lying to their prisoner and sighs, stopping short of correcting herself because Ty Lee has already started walking ahead, talking to a soldier boy who looks immensely into her.

That night, Ty Lee sits and looks at the sky for a long time. They are deep in this abysmal forest, and Azula is making minute annotations on a map with Mai at her side, and Ty Lee glares at them and does not know why she glares at them. Or the way their hips touch for a moment and they do not yank away from each other. In fact, they _get closer_.

Azula's eyes coast over Ty Lee as she walks to her tent and Ty Lee wonders if she will come over, like she has the past several nights, but she just keeps walking and disappears beneath the rouge canvas.

Mai contemplates following Azula for a moment before changing her mind and walking to Ty Lee.

"Hey..." Mai says and Ty Lee purses her lips. She would rather deal with the obnoxiously horny second guard over her or the man who kept insisting to Azula that keeping Ty Lee alive was a waste of resources. "I... about what you asked me earlier when we were walking..."

"No, I understand," Ty Lee says coldly, her girlish voice sharp now. "She's a princess, I'm a thief, it doesn't exist outside of banned fairy tales."

Mai rubs her lips together. "Okay, there's a reason she's keeping you alive despite everyone expressing their anger about it." Silence. "Azula doesn't... uh... do people so well. When we were kids, she had these friends, Shilu and Teng. They were twin girls and daughters of one of her Fire Lord Azulon's young advisors."

"...and?" Ty Lee looks at Mai, unsure what to make of this abrupt olive branch.

"I didn't ever meet them, but I was told the story before they made me be friends with her. They were meant to be friends with she and Zuko or whatever. Anyway, she would only let one of them play with her at once, and sometimes not at all. They used to go home with scratches on their faces, crying to their mother. A little tyrant, she was. Anyway, Shilu... or maybe Teng... hm... one of them, decided they were going to be clever, right?"

"Right?" Ty Lee suggests, uncertain she likes where this story is going.

"So they decided to, uh, set the ground rules for Azula. She did not like that one bit." Pause. "Well, that time they didn't go home with scratches on their faces. Their family was handed a chunk of land in the colonies and they lost half their noble titles because of whatever Azula told her grandfather."

Ty Lee's eyes widen briefly in horror. Mai just chuckles at the story.

"Is that true?" the acrobat whispers nervously.

"Yeah, they told me that. I was engaged to Zuko as a little kid, and I spent a lot of time at the palace. Eventually, Azula and I got close. People were understandably amazed that I lived through childhood." Silence. Mai scratches at her lip for a moment. "What I'm trying to say is that she's completely insane and horrible, and doesn't express affection like normal people. So, just take the fact that you're not dead yet as a sign of her liking you."

Ty Lee furrows her brow for a moment. "Thank you, Mai."

"So, uh, don't even _think _about breaking her cold, black heart. Because I will peel off your skin." Mai stands up and is gone, leaving Ty Lee incredibly confused.

Now, not killing someone is not an excellent sign of _love_ or _friendship_. But this _is _the Fire Nation, and Ty Lee supposes she will take what she can get.

* * *

><p>Azula wakes up naked with Mai again. She did not intend for that, but it is doing a good job of culling her confusing desires for their prisoner. And then she blinks several times as she sees Commander Xiao knocking on the thick canvas.<p>

The princess swiftly scrounges up clothes and walks to face him.

"Your brother and the, uh, the Avatar, have just been found. They liberated slaves in Deng Gaung City. If we move quickly, we can likely catch them." He bows hastily, and is gone as Azula walks to find her armor.

Mai gets up, having heard the news, and starts preparing alongside Azula.

Her thoughts echo for a moment with her conversation with the Earth Kingdom girl. Azula kept murmuring her name in her sleep, jumbled with Zuko's and her father's, of course, but the whole _Ty Lee _thing is pretty new.

_It doesn't exist out of banned fairy tales._


End file.
